Tristan Gale is an American skeleton racer who competed from 2001 to 2006. At the 2002 Winter Olympics, she became the inaugural women's skeleton champion. Gale dyed her hair with streaks of red, white and blue for the 2002 Olympics. During the 2002–2003 season, Tristan won a second gold medal on her home track in Salt Lake during a World Cup stop. She remains undefeated at the track in Utah since the Olympics.
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter Olympics, the first being in 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo; Italy had also hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960 in Rome.
Pierre Fritz Lueders is a Canadian Olympic, world and World Cup champion bobsledder who competed from 1990 to 2010. He piloted both two-man and four-man bobsleigh, retiring after the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was named to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
Gregor Stähli is a Swiss skeleton racer who has competed since 1989. He won two bronze Winter Olympic medals in the men's skeleton, earning them in 2002 and 2006.
Jeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Pain is an American-born Canadian former skeleton racer who competed from 1995 to 2010. He is regarded as one of the most successful male competitors in the history of the Canadian skeleton program. He was born in Anchorage, Alaska.
Martins Dukurs is a Latvian skeleton racer who has competed since 1998. He is a six-time world champion in men's skeleton, a double Olympic silver winner, and the athlete with the most World Cup titles with a total of 11, having won eight consecutive titles between 2010 and 2017, plus another three consecutive titles between 2020 and 2022.
Maya Pedersen-Bieri is a Swiss-Norwegian skeleton racer who has competed since 1995. She won the gold medal in the women's skeleton event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. She retired from the sport in 2010 before returning to compete for Norway in 2016, becoming at the oldest woman to start a World Cup race when she returned to the top level of skeleton in 2017. She is listed in the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation athlete registration system as Maya Pedersen.
Mellisa Hollingsworth is a retired Canadian athlete who competed from 1995 to 2014. She won the bronze medal in the women's skeleton event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Lascelles Brown is a Jamaican-born Canadian bobsledder who has competed for three countries since starting his career in 1999. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he is the first Jamaican-born athlete to win a Winter Olympic medal.
Kevin Kuske is a former German bobsledder who competed from 1999 to 2018. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he is the most successful Olympic athlete in bobsledding, winning four gold medals and two silver medals.
Noelle Pikus-Pace is an American retired skeleton racer who began her career in 2001. She won five medals at the FIBT World Championships, competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and won the silver medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Max Houben was a Belgian versatile athlete who competed from the early 1920s until his death at the 1949 FIBT World Championships. He won a silver medal in the four-man bobsled event at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, and was the oldest medalist at the Winter Olympics until Canadian Russ Howard won a gold medal in men's curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
David "Eli" MacEachern was a two-sport athlete from Canada. He was a Canadian bobsledder who competed in the 1990s. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he and Pierre Lueders won the gold medal in the two-man event at Nagano in 1998. He was also a soccer player that competed at the university level as well as national competitions. He was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Wilfried "Willi" Schneider is a German skeleton racer who competed from 1992 to 2002. He won two medals in the men's skeleton event at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in 1998 and a bronze in 1999.
Katie Uhlaender is an American skeleton racer who has competed since 2003. She has won six medals at the FIBT World Championships with two gold, one silver, and three bronze.
Curtis "Curt" Tomasevicz is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2004, and a former college football player. He won six medals at the FIBT World Championships with two golds, a silver and three bronzes.
Jonathan Riley "Jon" Montgomery is a Canadian skeleton racer and television host. He won the gold medal in the men's skeleton event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Despite hosting The Amazing Race Canada since 2013, he is best known in Canada for his spontaneous celebration after winning the gold medal in 2010, when he was caught on camera being handed a pitcher of beer by a fan while a crowd surrounding him cheered and sang O Canada. Writing for CBC in 2020, Montgomery stated "If the beer is all I’m ever remembered for, I consider myself the luckiest fella on Earth."
The men's skeleton event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, took place at the Whistler Sliding Centre on 18–19 February. Canada's Duff Gibson was the defending Olympic champion. Gibson retired after the 2006 Olympics. Switzerland's Gregor Stähli, the defending Olympic bronze medalist was the defending world champion, but did not compete due to a thigh injury sustained during the World Cup event in Lake Placid, New York, on 20 November 2009. The test event held at the venue was won by Jon Montgomery of Canada. The last World Cup event prior to the 2010 Games took place in Igls, Austria, on 23 January 2010 and was won by Latvia's Martins Dukurs who also won the overall World Cup title.
